“I’m my own coach,” Rick Wedge says when asked about working with another person for professional and personal development. “Nothing beats experience and the willingness to learn new things.”
Now that’s confidence we can get behind, and it’s this drive and focus that has Wedge, an advisor with Pensionmark in the firm’s Northern California office, operating at such a high level.
“One hundred percent of our business is working with employers and employees on their retirement plans,” he adds. “This is not just a part of our business or something we do as an add-on to employee benefits or financial planning. We are working as a fiduciary retirement plan advisor 100 percent of the time.”
As we said—focus.
So how does he maintain such high-standards while equally maintaining a solid work/life balance?
He sat with 401(k) Specialist to describe it all.
If you could start all over again, what would you do differently?
At the start of my practice, very early on, we tried to be all things to all companies—offering employee benefits and financial planning—but the reality is that these are specialties in the same way as being a fiduciary advisor should be a sole focus. We quickly learned we were not servicing our clients best by offering products where we were not truly experts.
Lessons Learned: What worked well and/or didn’t work well?
What works best is taking the time to understand how best to help your client. What do they need to offer the best possible retirement program to their participant? Once we understand how the client wants to offer benefits, it’s easy to find the low-cost, best-in-class product to fill their needs. Understanding each client’s process then allows us to deploy our services to their participants. It’s what I consider the fun part—working with employees to help them see their retirement goals.
What software, apps, or tools do you use and how do they benefit you?
As part of the Pensionmark Retirement Group, we have access to all of the cutting-edge programs to offer our clients. Pensionmark typically leads the industry in offering tools for both participants and employers.
What is your office environment and/or culture like?
Clients come first in everything we do. We like to say we are an extension of our client’s HR Team. To that end, our day isn’t typically nine-to-five, so we are very flexible with how our staff operates. We are dog-friendly and kid-friendly. Need to work from home today? No problem.
What about your client events?
We typically like to have one or two client events each year. Some highlights have been Giants games or wine tasting events. In addition, we often offer educational sessions where we partner with some of the top industry people in the area.
Where and how do you successfully network?
Pensionmark actually has a lead generation team that helps us get in touch with prospects. That said, most of our new business is referrals from existing clients.
How do you stay organized and focused?
Our entire staff is keyed into Salesforce. Pensionmark customized it to meet our needs, and we use it daily to make sure we are staying on top of all issues.
What is your health and wellness routine?
I participate in CrossFit five or six times a week and do my best to eat healthily.
How do you relax and recharge?
Spending time with my family or on the golf course. If I had my way, I would fish more.
What changes have occurred in your life that shaped who you are today?
There are a couple of things. Spending the first part of my career working for a very large recordkeeper helped me understand how things worked internally and, as a result, I feel better prepared to direct my clients. More importantly, I have an autistic son. He has taught me patience, something I lacked prior to him coming on the scene
Who has been most influential in your life? How have they influenced you?
My son Johnny. It’s not all about me. I need to be patient, I need to have empathy and I need to consider other possibilities. I have learned so much raising him. It’s made me a better person and a better advisor.
What leadership qualities and skill sets are essential for advisors?
You need to be open to doing what’s always best for your client, and at all times. It often means doing things differently than you might want. Being organized is key—being a great fiduciary advisor is about maintaining processes for your clients, understanding best practices and then helping them implement and document.